implement mental health and substance use disorder parity in Medicaid;

release additional funding to states purchasing and distributing naloxone, an opioid antagonist;

increase public health-public safety partnerships;

invest in community policy to address rise in heroin;

tackle addiction in rural communities; and

grow syringe services programs.

Beginning in fall 2016, more than 60 medical schools will require students to take some form of prescriber education. These courses will focus on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.

The administration’s announcements come on the heels of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s draft guidance intended to support the development of generic versions of approved opioids with abuse-deterrent formulations (ADFs).